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Building Real-Time Chat App with Python WebSocket

Creating a real-time chat application using WebSocket in Python not only helps you understand how WebSocket works, but also provides a direct communication experience among users. Here's a basic guide to get you started:

Install the WebSocket Library

Use the websockets library to create WebSocket server and client. You can install this library using pip:

pip install websockets

Build the WebSocket Server

import asyncio
import websockets

async def handle_client(websocket, path):
    async for message in websocket:
        # Handle messages from the client
        # Send the message back to all connected clients
        await asyncio.wait([client.send(message) for client in clients])

start_server = websockets.serve(handle_client, "localhost", 8765)
asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(start_server)
asyncio.get_event_loop().run_forever()

Build the WebSocket Client

import asyncio
import websockets

async def receive_message():
    async with websockets.connect("ws://localhost:8765") as websocket:
        while True:
            message = await websocket.recv()
            print("Received message:", message)

asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(receive_message())

Run the Application

Open two command line windows, one for the WebSocket server and one for the WebSocket client. Run the server code first, then run the client code. You will see real-time messages being sent and received between the two windows.

Customize and Enhance

From here, you can customize and enhance your application by adding features such as user authentication, data encryption, chat history storage, and more.

Conclusion:

Building a real-time chat application using WebSocket in Python is a great way to learn how WebSocket works and experience real-time communication among users.